How to Contour Your Face

Want sculpted cheeks and a slimmer nose -- instantly? We asked a pro to show us the simplest and most effective face contouring techniques

Heart: Before you contour Heart-shaped faces usually have prominent cheekbones and chins, like our model Heather does here, so Krizki says it's important not to over-contour, which will make your face look pointier.

If you're new to contouring, it's important to know the basics. You're always doing two things, Krizki says: the first is shading, which makes an area of skin recede from view, and the second is highlighting, which creates the illusion of bringing a feature forward. Where you put the shading and highlights depends on your features and face shape. Next, see how to contour a heart-shaped face like Heather's.

I have a square face and through years of trial and error had figured out the highlighting tricks, but didn't know about the shading tricks (and never would have guessed on my own). I'm eager to give them a try.